Devotion and Madness
by The Demonic Duo
Summary: Remus is finally able to leave the home for the insane and live with everyday society. Will Remus be able to forgive the young Black for leaving him behind? Or will he spiral into madness and drag them both down? SBRL,SLASH,AU! Sequel to Sick and Unwell.
1. Chapter 1

_Ta-da! The Sick and Unwell sequel, please enjoy and review, please. I tried my best to make this story readable so that new people wouldn't have to read the previous story, but I still think it's recommended to do so. The choice is yours, of course. _

**Chapter One**

_The Demonic Duo_

It's been a year since Sirius Black left the St. Hogsmeade asylum, a year of Remus trying to better himself so that he could be released. His thought of the matter was that if Sirius could do it, may all be damned if Remus, himself, could not. A year of this prison was more than enough for the Lupin boy to handle. If he wasn't released soon... he'd go insane. Imagine _that_.

Time passed, though. Sure enough, it passed quickly. Months went by with Remus tenatively cooperating with the resident head nurse, Molly. He picked up sign language quite well, bound and determined to get through this with flamboyantly flying colors. The only point of studying that bothered Remus, was that it was in a group of people, all who knew far more than he did, and made a point to remind him of this. He kept his temper in check, and even startled one of the boys in the group when he smiled in return to his taunting. Actually, it wasn't a mere state of being startled, the boy was terrified. So terrified that Remus had to go look into a mirror and experiement with expressions to see what was so wrong. He was still clueless on the matter, but that was fine. If he was lucky, he'd have that effect on more people than just that child. The possibilities made dreams come easier to him at night.

When it was time for his evaluation, Remus never felt more sure of himself. Walking into the small, bleached white room, he stared at the shrink and gave a brilliant smile. The room was in worse shape than any other room Remus went to in this place, with large gashes on the farside wall, and mold that seemed to seep from the various cracks. The young patient pretended to not have noticed the condition of the room, and continued to give the psychiatrist an unwavering stare.

"Hello Remus." The man had murmured, smiling back with gleaming but gaunt, tired eyes. His hair was very long and most certainly white. He looked tired, as if he had seen too much of the darker side of things. Remus didn't doubt that the man probably had. "My name is Albus Dumbledore, please," He motioned to the tiny, orange chair. "...have a seat."

Remus complied, watching the man curiously. His tone seemed amiable, but his looks screamed tired and frail. Albus grabbed his glasses from their dangling position over his chest, placing them on the bridge of his nose and wrinkling his nose to get comfortable.

"Molly tells me that you don't verbally speak, but have ventured in the nature of sign languge, yes?"

Remus nodded slowly, his thin fingers twisting in his lap. The confidence he started out with was waning, and the man seemed to be gaining more energy as the evaluation moved on. Remus's previous visage of pleasant sweetness turned into suspicious concern. He really didn't know what to expect with this man, and he was getting a sickening feeling of deja vu, but not quite. Albus seemed almost as unpredictable as... well. Sirius Black. Inhaling sharply, Remus struggled to keep his temper in check and he squirmed rigidly in his seat, folding his hands as Albus's pale eyes reguarded him calmly.

"So, Remus, how was your stay here?" The older man asked softly, smiling at Remus. Remus's eyes twitched into a mild glare before returning to their regular expression of blankness.

Remus licked his lips, bringing a balled fist up to his chest, his pinking standing high among the curled fingers. **I.** Next, he brought his index finger to his forehead and made a small circle. **Think.** He made the letter "I" again with his pinky erect before placing his fingers so that the thumb was between the index and middle finger, making the letter "T." **I-T.** He swiped his open hand over his right shoulder at a moderate speed, his eyes full of concentration over what he was saying. **Was... **

Pausing, Remus stared at Albus before smiling very slightly and finally pointing to his nose with his index finger and twisting it very slightly. **Boring.**

This seemed to amuse Albus as much as it did Remus, and the elder let out a chuckle that caused Remus to relax. Albus, adjusted his glasses and folded his arms over his extremely baggy fushia shirt. Remus stared with interest at the shirt, glancing down at his own outfit with a raised eyebrow. _It should be sinful to be so brightly colored in a place like this... _

"I think the food needs improving, wouldn't you agree?" And Remus could. Was it his first day, when he found a bug in his meal? Aah, yes, those were the most miserable of days. Instead of spacing out, Remus honed back in on Albus, whom was looking quite eerie again. Remus's visage fell flat again. "You're a fascinating person, Remus. May I call you Remus?" He smiled, continuing without Remus's answer. "I think it's interesting that your expression drops whenever you don't like something."

Remus's lips twitched downward. What was this man going on about? When he didn't like something, he made sure whomever he was displeased with knew it. Albus stood up, extending his hand out to Remus, and Remus's face jerked in surprise.

"I think I'll talk with Molly, now, so it was nice meeting you, Remus." Albus's eyes sparkle, and the man looked to have even more energy. What was it with this guy? It felt like he was sucking the life out of Remus, who felt a lot more cranky and unsure than when he started this evaluation.

Being ushered into an adjacent room, Remus took a seat on a small yet comfortable sofa and blinked up at Molly as she closed the door. Sighing irritably, he crossed his arms and flopped back moodily. How the hell was that old man to know who he was and all that with just a few minutes conversation? The bloody man, sorry... _Albus_... had only asked him one question! _ONE!_

Remus silently seethed, his fingers twisting in his lap out of frustration. He was wondering how this shrink was supposed to be so good if he just stared at you. Remus didn't even get to say much of anything. Seriously, how was this supposed to work for him?

Then again, Albus was also talking to Molly. It was probably about his progress and such events of his stay. He was wondering if the head nurse would mention anything positive about him. Remus admitted he was making progress, but he also knew he caused more trouble than he was worth. He was still a stubborn and angry person who liked to throw his usual fits here and there, but that doesn't mean much of anything, right? It was only when he really, really needed his privacy and people were around and just could bring themselves to leave. Heh.

After an agonizing five minutes, Molly finally opened the door and waved Remus out of the room. He stood up, walking past her and glancing back as she closed the door. Remus skirted the room slightly and was about to lean against the wall, and thought better of it, folding his arms.

"Well, Remus, I think I've come to a conclusion on whether or not I'm willing to let you go into the real world."

Remus waited for him to continue, and raised an eyebrow when Albus didn't. Inhaling slightly, out of nervous impatience, he made the letter "A" with both hands and placed the thumb of his right hand on the thumbnail of his left hand and moved both hands forward. **Continue**. Albus beamed at him and obliged. Instead of confirming anything, he went straight into the facts.

"The state will be giving you a fixed amoung of money each month, and you will also be assisted in spending the money wisely. You're to use the income for new clothes, items for your apartment and of course, food. Basically, necessities."

Remus stared at him quietly, his brain slowing to comprehend this. Slowly, his face relaxed into an easy smile, and he was the least guarded that day than any other day of his life. Genuine happiness showed on his face and that surprised both Molly and Albus.

"Congratulations, Remus." Molly said, great fat tears welling up in her eyes. She was watching him with such maternal fondness that caused Remus to blink in near sadness at having put her through so much... shit.

"_Thank you_," He mouthed, grabbing her hands and squeezing before dropping them, still not fond of too much contact.

Molly smiled at him and the tears fell, great heaving sobs escaping her mouth as she bunched up a large paper towel in front of her face. It was an interesting thing to watch, but before he could do anything more than stare, Albus was pushing him out the door.

"Why don't you use that bag there on the floor and pack up, hm?" He smiled and closed the door, no doubt to calm the redheaded nurse. Remus picked up the bag, and read his name on the small, removable tag and carried it towards his room. It all felt like a slow motion shot in the movies. Remus was leaving! Finally, all that work paid off. In your face, Black!

He'd like to have said he just threw the stuff into the bag, but being so obsessive compulsive, he folded every bit of clothing and gently placed everything else into it. He was excited, but from a mere observer, he'd look just like he did any other day.

Glancing up, Remus noticed that three strangers were watching him with rather bland expressions. They were... colorless people, the type you would look over in the middle of a crowd. They were... just... _simple_. After a second though, Remus remembered that these three people were the same from a year ago. The ones that had escorted Sirius out, to be more precise. He noticed with an odd satisfaction that they were a lot more intimidating from this point of view and in a sense, he wondered how pathetic Sirius felt in his position that time. Remus, however, felt pretty good and even managed a dashing smile at them.

Picking up his bag, he headed towards the door and pushed through them, smirking back at them. He was ready for this, and admittedly he was dead set for this ever since that sickening feeling in the hall as he watched Sirius leave.

Stepping through the doors and into a small white van, Remus felt better than ever. It was his turn, now. Time to get his life back. Slowly, but surely, he was prepared to be human again.

**TBC. **

_Well, this was pretty fun to write. This will be a LITTLE more in-depth into the evaluation as well as the state provided apartment. Remus is a legal adult now, and since the family is the cause he'll be in a new version of a holding cell. Whee. I really hope you enjoyed this and I appologize for the abrupt ending of Sick and Unwell. _

_I hope you guys didn't mind the american sign language being put in there. I figured it'd be interesting, and I warn you that at times I'll get lazy and just put the signing in bold. Also, I hope I didn't offend anyone somehow by getting a sign wrong or anything like that. I've been back and forth through this entire chapter, dig-dagging my way through it. I also used a book to double check it and such. _

_Ah, well, I can't think of any other rant to go along with this. So please enjoy, read and review! I love review! _

_OH! And I'd really like to thank all of those who instant messaged me on AIM to comment on Sick and Unwell. I really enjoyed talking with you all! It made me feel lovededed!_


	2. Chapter 2

_Here's the new chapter, please enjoy it. I managed to finally get up the energy to write the rest and then proof read it. Sorry it took so long._

**Chapter Two**

_By: The Demonic Duo_

Arriving at the rather decent looking apartment building, Remus was helped out of the van and handed his bag. Frowning at the people around him, he went back to staring at the large complex. It was an aluminum seeming gray, with a pulverulent looking pink sewn into it's design. The windows were large and reflective, causing the area to seem a little livelier and brighter. Being urged forward, Remus sucked in a breath and marched his way towards the entrance, someone else getting in front of him to lead the way. That was fine with Remus, as long as they refrained from touching him again. _Ever. Again. _

The inside lobby had more design with the pink and gray from the outdoors, but there were also greens and blacks to dig into the more calming colors. The floor looked to be a glossy black, green and white marble and the plants that littered the place were all artificial and that same dusty pink. Along the walls were black and white pictures with green matts and silver frames. The building intrigued Remus, and he was already set on exploring it.

Walking over to the desk, the tallest man in Remus's moving party instructed him to sign in. Once he did, he recieved a key as well as a copy, which was abruptly taken by the big guy. Not really concerned with this, Remus was led to his room and as he unlocked it, he stepped in and took in the rather comforting sight.

There was a rather decent looking room that actually had all of the necessary things. There was a dark brown couch in the middle of the room, facing a tiny television that rested on a table. Looking over at the bedroom, the door was open revealing a richly furnished bed that was actually very familiar. In fact, all this stuff looked like his own belongings from his home.

"Your parents brought your things here to be stored for when you were released." The man said, and Remus nodded, turning to look at him. "You'll be recieving a check tomorrow so that you can go shopping. A person to help you manage your money wisely will assist you. He or she will be well educated in A.S.L. so there's no need to worry over communication. Have a good night, Mr. Lupin."

The people left, and Remus snorted at the thought over communication worrying him. Since when did he care? Throwing his bag carelessly onto the floor, he browsed the tiny rooms quietly. The small kitchen was perfect, and Remus even checked the faucet, pleased to have decent tasting water. After enjoying a second glass of fresh water, he moved on through the apartment.

The bedroom was similar to his old one, and that was probably the point. He gazed the bookshelf over, pleased to see most of his books were there or on the floor in neatly stacked boxes. His parents may have shipped him away, and supposedly wanted nothing to do with him, but they sure cared enough to do all this for him. Surprising. He knew better, though, it was simply to get rid of his junk.

Remus grabbed his things from his room and arranged them to his satisfaction. He remade his bed, and fixed his bookshelf so that it was all in alphabetical order. After an hour's worth of redecorating, he was vaguely satisfied with the result. Flicking the television on, he watched in awe over the amount of channels available to him.

The weather channel displayed the time, and since it was rather late, he simply turned it off and crawled onto his couch. It was odd, staring at the darkened room that was lit by the fading sunlight. He couldn't believe that it was almost a year since he was admitted into the Hogsmeade Asylum. His entire living style had changed, and now here he was in a relatively normal room on his own. It was a pretty nice feeling.

Rolling onto his back, he stretched out and nearly slipped onto the floor. Sliding his legs off, he laid there for an akward second before getting up. He all but glided through the room and towards his dresser, practically stripping along the way. Dropping the clothes to the side, he frowned at them and opened his drawer. Grinning at his old clothes, he gleefully slipped them on and collapsed dramatically on his bed. Inhaling deeply, it was only a matter of minutes before he was out cold.

* * *

It was five o'clock in the morning by the time he woke up, comfortably nessled into the top of his comforter, the sheets folded around him, yet not over him. The room was warm enough without the blankets, but the fresh smell of softener laced into the fabric was almost intoxicating. He adored the scent of _clean_. 

Crawling out of the bed, he changed into a simple orange t-shirt and a pair of light blue denim pants. He folded his pyjamas and placed them under his pillow for later use. Since the apartment had nothing edible, he bravely left towards the lobby on a mission. He was hungry, dammit!

The man behind the desk stared at him as he wandered into view. Staring back, Remus headed towards him. He had probably _looked _menacing, because the man's hand slipped over the security button and was poised to press down in case of emergency. Stopping in front of him, Remus frowned and did a quick spell of hand signs before the man shakily gave him a sheet of paper. Writing down it, Remus hurriedly scribbled one neat word. _Food_.

Breathing in relief, _Gerard_, as the tag said, gave him a small pamphlet and pointed him in the direction of the cafeteria. Along with it was a pass, guaranteeing him free food. Flipping through the small booklet, he raised an eyebrow and paused. It was pretty much a menu, and in the finest detail it explained exactly what he would be eating. Biting down on his lip, he stepped into the empty cafeteria and exhaled at the emptiness. There was two, no, three other people in the room. He showed the cashier his pass, and the person scanned it into the system and returned it to him. He ordered his food by showing the gaunt woman behind the counter, a specific passage in his pamphlet. She gave him a toothy, yet cavity filled grin. Just witnessing the painful grin caused the nerves in Remus's mouth to set fire. Giving her a very small smile, he pushed down his disgust and greatfully accepted his food.

"REMUS!"

Nearly dropping his food, Remus tensed and stood quite still. Moments passed slowly at first before time regained it's motion. He turned his head and spotted someone skipping towards him. He recognized his face immediately. It was Sirius Black. Getting a small flash of memories, his mouth twisted into a sharp frown and he promptly ignored the black haired man. Sirius would be nineteen now, was it? Remus was a whopping eighteen. Oh boy. Now he couldn't inflict harm onto the other man without being tried as an adult... pity.

Sitting down, Remus set his tray down and ducked his head enough so that only his food was in his line of vision. Ignoring Sirius, he shoved a forkful of french toast and whipped cream into his mouth. He was still angry with the other man, even after an entire year's time. He felt strangely betrayed when Sirius left. Remus, after most of his life, had finally felt he had a friend. In the end, Sirius just proved how despicable people really were.

Remus' symptoms of severe anti-social behavior had worsened shortly after Sirius's release. He had gotten more violent, and even had to be placed into isolation for an entire month. He was there due to his unnecessary act of violence towards the staff. He needed six people to hold him down, while another injected him with a sedative.

Sirius sat down in front of him, staring. Unable to keep his disinterested facade, Remus relented to making eye contact. He was surprised to see just how more handsome Sirius had gotten over just this one year. He sported a mature haircut to his shoulders, in comparison to the shaggy one he had before. On the bridge of his nose rested very smart looking glasses. He looked great, which sort of seemed to down Remus's mood. The sex appeal just didn't seem to matter anymore, Sirius had moved on without him.

"Hey, Remus." Sirius ventured again, tilting his head. Remus frowned and stabbed his french toast again, then again to make sure his hostile mood was put across. It wasn't. Sirius simply grinned and had the nerve to reach over and swipe his finger into the whipped cream, stealing a strawberry while he was at it.

Remus aimed his fork at Sirius and missed, aggrivated with the annoying cackle the other let out. Wrinkling his nose, Remus huffed and continued eating, skirting around the contaminated part of his food.

"I missed you, Remus, I'm glad you're out of there. What makes me even more pleased is to see that you're here, specifically in this building." Sirius stated, sounding only vaguely educated in his small speech. He continued, "I wasn't exactly able to visit, though I wish I could have. I'm doing alright here, but there's no one interesting here. I guess that's where you come in! You should come visit my room and we can just hang out. Did you get a job slip yet? How long have you been here? God, Remus, can't you just imagine the fun we're going to have?"

Remus frowned, blankly staring at Sirius's broad grin. He seemed unphased with Remus's lack of enthusiasm. Rem's mood lifted, even if only by a fraction of an inch. _Sirius missed me_. He thought briefly, determined to not show his relief on his face. He felt it shouldn't have mattered so much, and that thought alone made him angry. Glaring at Sirius, he licked his fork and downed his drink before getting up and dumping his trash. He stared at the trashcan, feeling mildly amused at getting away with throwing everything out. It felt nice, though the only downside was that everything was plastic. So much for real utensils, right?

Leaving the cafeteria, he lazily strolled down the hall, ignoring the stray dog behind him. He grimaced when Sirius touched his arm. Wrenching it free, he gave Sirius a rude look and went still when he heard a foreign voice speak his name. He glanced over to _Gerard _and stared at the very attractive man standing in front of the counter. His hair was poker straight and tied into a loose, black braid. His face had a boyish charm that somehow bordered hostile. His eyes were narrowed, giving the impression he was suspicious of everyone.

Glancing the man over quickly, he exhaled loudly and trudged up the stairs. He noticed by that point that Sirius's attention had wandered over to the stranger. Surprisingly his normally excitable attitude had changed to something that was quite malignant. It was a mildly mesmerizing though, to know that Sirius's capabilities weren't simply bound by goofy stupidity.

Checking down the hall, Remus made sure he was alone before he slipped into his room and locked the door. Not long after he had locked it, he heard a shallow knock. He stared, completely unsure of whether or not he wanted to open it, when the person persisted the soft pounding. Relenting, Remus jerked the door open a crack and peeked through.

The sight that greeted him was not Sirius, in fact it was a pair of sultry looking reddish brown eyes. He recognized the person as the stranger he was inspecting earlier.

"Yes?" He murmured quietly. Remus started and gawked before introducing himself with clumbsy signs. The man's eyebrows raised slowly and Remus froze as those eyes swept over his _entire _form. "Ah, indeed. Well, then, Mr. Lupin... it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Tom Riddle, I was sent here to assist you and help you get comfortable here."

_Just how comfortable? _Remus thought, swinging the door open to allow Riddle inside.

**TBC**

_Aah, here's another chapter. It's chapter two and here Remus has already dived into a road of drama. Whoo! Did you know that pink is calming? It's the reason I used it for the building's interior. I figured it'd be ironic, especially with all of this psycho-sexual tension in the air. Remus is such a pimp. LOL. He's hitting it off with Riddle and Sirius, and quite possibly in the worst of ways! ...aren't you excited? _

_This chapter didn't really have too much happen. It's introducing/hinting what should come in the future, though. Please. **Read and Review! **_


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